Constrictor



Aug. 22, 1950 w. STEGEMAN 2,519,712.

CONSTRICTOR Filed Nov. 22, 1948 11 M m U.

INVENTOR.

' WI LS ON STEGEMAN ATTORNEYS Patented Aug. 22, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE ooNstgnro'roR Wilson StegemanfSant-a Rosa, Calif.

Application'November 22, 1948, Serial No. 61,507 3 Claims. 00!. 12sa2v)The present invention relates to improvements in a constrictor. Itconsists of the combinations, constructions and arrangement of parts, ashereinafter described and claimed.

At the outset of this specification, I desire to point out that aconstrictor is a band which is wrappedaround the arm or leg ofa patientto shut off all or part of the blood-flow in the limb. Doctors haveconstant need for an eflicient constrictor in modern medical practice.

The most common use of a constrictor is for idistending the superficialveins of the arm so that they may be punctured with a needle attached ;to-a syringe, either for the drawing of blood for laboratory tests, orfor the introduction of medicines, blood or plasma into the veins.Occasionally, the constrictor must be used as a tourniquet to .shut ofithe entire circulation of blood to the limb in order to stop hemorrhage.

In order that the use and advantages of my improved constrictor may befully understood, "brief reference will be made to commonly-usedconstrictors and their deficiencies.

At times, the fingers of an assistant are utilized for encircling thepatients limb to distend the veins- This practice is cumbersome,consumin time and personnel, and provides a poor constrictor since it istoo inelastic.

Resort has been made to using a piece of rubber tubing and wrapping itaround the patients limb. However, the tubing must be secured by anassistant, or be tied, knotted or clamped. The tub- 'ing will constrictfairly well; but it may break,

-or compress the skin in a painful manner, especially if the patient isfleshy. The tubing is generally tied with a slip-knot (which oftenpinches the skin) so that it may be untied and loosened with a pull,once the needle has been introduced into the vein. The sudden releasethus brought about frequently jars or jerks the needle out of the vein,if the vein is small, thus requiring repetition of the process.

The cuff of a blood-pressure apparatus has been used as a constrictor.It is cumbersome to apply, and generally in the way due to its size andshape. The cloth-covered bag is diflicult to clean, if it gets stainedwith blood.

It is proposed in the present invention to provide a constrictor, whichmay be quickly and easily applied; comfortable to the patient due to itswidth; constricts superficial veins perfectly, and even may be used asan eflicient tourniquet to control hemorrhage.

Moreover, I propose to provide a constrictor that is self-secured as itis wrapped in layers ill) storing in a doctor's bag. It can be hung upconveniently in the doctor's oifice or in the hospital treatment orsurgery room. The constrictor is sanitary in type and is easily cleaned.

For a better understanding of my invention, reference should be had tothe accompanying drawing, forming part of this application, in which:

Figure 1 is a plan view of my constrictor;

- Figure 2 is an end view illustrating the constrictor applied to thelimb of a patient, portions of the constrictor being disclosed insection;

Figures 3 and 4 are enlarged transverse sectional views taken along thelines III-III and IVIV, respectively, of Figures 2 and 1, respecitively.

in the scope'of the appended claims without departing from the spiritthereof.

In carrying my invention into practice, I provide a strip of flexiblematerial indicated generally at A. This strip is made preferably of softpliable rubber and has suflicient length to be wrapped around a patientslimb B in overlapped layers, with the strip presenting a depending freeend 9.

The strip A is provided on one face thereof with a plurality ofprojections to, which are arranged in rows, (1., b and 0 extendinglengthwise of the strip, as clearly shown in Figure 1. These projectionsare integral with the body of the strip, and are reinforced by inclinedwebs ll extending between projections and the strip body (see Figure 4)The strip A is broad and flat in trans- Verse section so that it maybear against the patients limb without causing discomfort to thepatient.

Referring to Figure 1 in particular, it will be noted that openings I2are fashioned between adjacent projections Ill in each of the rows a, band c. The projections and openings in the row b are staggered withrespect to the projections and openings in the rows or and c. When thestrip is wrapped around the patients limb B, the projections ill in eachrow on one layer Al of the strip protrude into the openings I2 in thesame row on the next superimposed layer A2 of the strip. The openings 12are large enough to receive the inclined webs l I (see Figure 3).

The depending free end 9 of the strip is turned back upon itself, as at90. to provide a pocket M in which a weight I5 is accommodated. Themarginal portions [6, l1 and I8 of the front wall IQ of the pocket arevulcanized or otherwise secured to the rear wall 20 of the pocket toretain the weight in place. The suspended weight in the free end of thestrip keeps the inter-engaging projections and openings in apposition,preventing lateral and longitudinal slippage of the layers relative toone another.

The weight i5 provides a firm hand-grip A3 at the free end of the strip,which may be grasped by hand to pull the strip taut as it is wrappedabout the patients limb, or when removing the constrictor. This weightis sufilciently heavy to keep the strip from uncoiling, and theprojections it are maintained in engagement with the openings 52 inwhich they are inserted. However, the-strip may be removed very quicklywithout jerking the skin or limb of the patient by merely lifting thehand-grasp A3 with one hand. The weight causes the projections andopenings to remainin apposition t whatever tension the strip is appliedfor as long as desired.

- An opening 2! is fashioned through the weight l5 and the walls |9-20of the pocket in order that'the constrictor can be hung up convenientlyin the doctors oifice, or in the hospital treatment or surgery room.

The soft rubber strip A may be folded-into a compact unit for storage ina, doctors bag. It

is sanitary and easily cleaned, comfortable to the.

patient due to its width. It constricts superficial veins perfectly, andmay be used as a tourniquet to control hemorrhage.

. It should be understood that other methods may be employed forattaching the weight to the constrictor. For example, the weight couldbe hooked on to the constrictor, clamped to it (for instance, .a, flatpiece of metal clamped aroundthe rubber band at the end), or a weightwhich is tucked into or buttoned through the constrictor, 4B

or a weight whicheis slipped into a pocket in the end of theconstrictor.

I claim:

1. A constrictor comprising a strip of yieldable and flexible materialadapted to be wrapped around the arm or leg of a patient to partiallyoverlap itself and shut off all or a part of the blood flow; said striphaving openings and projections, certain of the projections in thelapped portion of the strip being freely received in the adjacentopenings of the complementary lapped portion; and a weight secured tothe free end of the strip for pulling downwardly on the outer end of thestrip in the same direction the strap is wound for holding the outerlapped layer of the strip down upon the inner adjacent layer so that theprojections of one layer will continue to extend through the openings inthe adjacent layer and hold the lapped strip portions from relativelongitudinal and lateral movement with respect to each other, theprojections being freed from the openings when the weighted end of thestrip" is lifted and moved to unwind the wrapped portion.

2. A constrictor of the character described comprising: a strip offlexible material having a, plurality of projections arranged in rOWS onone face thereof; the strip having openings therein disposed betweenadjacent projections in each row; and a weight anchored to one end ofthe strip.

1}. A constrictor of the character described comprising: a strip offlexible material having a, pl urality of projections arranged in rowson one face thereof; the strip having openings therein disposed betweenadjacent projections in each row; the projections in one row beingstaggered relative to the projections in the adjacent row; and a weightanchored to one end of the strip.

WILSON STEGEMAN.

Name Date Number Mason Mar. 18, 1941

